The Australian Federal Budget 2024 introduced key initiatives to support small businesses through tax incentives, energy rebates, funding for education and innovation, enhanced cybersecurity measures, and improved access to government contracts.
Here’s what you need to know about the Federal Budget for 2024-25 for Small Businesses.
Programs Extended
1. $20,000 Instant Asset Write-Off Program
Small businesses with an annual turnover of less than $10 million will be able to immediately deduct eligible assets costing less than $20,000. This is extended to 30 June 2025.
2. Energy Rebates
From 1 July 2024, eligible small businesses will receive $325 to help pay their electricity bills, throughout the year as part of the Energy Bill Relief Fund extension.
More Government Funding
3. Education & Training Support to address the labour and skills shortage:
- $88.8 million to provide an additional 20,000 fee-free TAFE places in construction-related courses.
- $1.8 million to deliver streamlined skills assessments for around 1,900 migrants to work in Australia’s housing construction industry.
4. Powering Innovation
$392.4 million is committed to the Industry Growth Program to support business innovation for Aussie startups and small businesses.
5. Assistance for Small Businesses Expanding Globally
$10.9 million to expand support for businesses to export through enhancements for the Go Global Toolkit online platform.
6. Bolstering Cyber Security for SMEs
A combined $41.7 million to the Cyber Wardens program, the Small Business Cyber Resilience Service, and the Cyber Health Check tool to educate small businesses about cyber security and best practices to adopt.
7. A Fairer Playing Field for the Franchising Sector
$3 million to implement the recommendations from the 2023 Review of the Franchising Code of Conduct, promoting best-practice conduct between franchisors and franchisees.
8. Assistance for Small Businesses to Win Government Contracts
The Commonwealth Procurement Rules have been updated to increase the participation target for small and medium businesses and it’s also improving AusTender to make it easier to identify small and medium businesses on government panels.
